Gripping tool



5, 1933- A. G. FREIDLEIN 1,938,419

GRIPPING TOOL Filed Oct. 7, 1932 INVENTOR H; VA 6. FRE/DLE/A/ ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 5, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENTfOFFICE 1,938,419 GRIPPING Toor. Alva o. Freidlein, Woodhaven, N. Y. Application October'l, 1932. Serial No. 636,656 6 Claims. (01.294-106) My invention relates to gripping tools and has for its object to provide a tool of this type designed primarily for the removal of broken axles from automobiles and other automotive vehicles.

As is Well known the axles of automobiles and equivalent automotive vehicles, or at least the rear axles thereof, are enclosed in casings or housings so that the operation of removing all parts of axles which have been broken is at times a difficult one, and in some instances requires the casing to be dismantled before such removal can be effected. The invention contemplates particularly the provision of an efiicient tool whereby such removal .of all parts of a broken axle from its oasing isreduced to the utmost simplicity and capable of being effected with a minimum of effort and without requiring any particular skill in its performance. Other objects will appear from the "description go hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

'In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates an example of the invention without defining the limits, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the novel tool in use; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the tool; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary external view thereof. In its illustratedform the tool comprises a head 10 cored out to forman internal shoulder 11,' and permanently fixed in any suitable man- -ner upon .one end of a tube 12 which preferably engages said internal shoulder 11 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and which is of an axial length and of a diameter suitable to 'the purposes for which the tool is primarily, de-

signed. The head 10 is further provided withv an internal bore 13 one end of which termi- I nates at the aforesaid internal shoulder 11 and the other end of which communicates with an axial recess 14 formed in the head 10 and extending to the outer end face thereof, asshown in Figs. 2 and 3. At its outer end the head 10 v further includes ears 15 projecting. outwardly from said outer face in spaced parallel relation,

as illustrated in Fig. 4. In addition the. tool includes gripping means which, in the illustrated example, consists of levers 17 pivotally mounted between the ears 15 by means of pivot pins 18 and continued in the form of. integral projections or legs 19 which extend in directions to ward each other and are located in overlapping I relation, as shown in Fig. 3;- in other words,

the levers 17 are of the type commonly referred H to as bell-crank levers arranged with one leg of one lever overlapping the corresponding leg of the other lever. The projections or legs-19 are provided with slots 20 which register with each other for the purpose to be more fully set 0 I forth hereinafter. The aforesaid gripping means inaddition to the parts so far described include gripping members or jaws 21 preferably of'curved form in cross section and possessing a predetermined amountv of inherent resiliency, 5 The gripping members or jaws 21 are secured by rivetsor equivalent fastening means '22 to carriers 23 which are pivotally connected at 24 I with the outer ends of the levers 17, said gripping members or jaws 21 being yieldingly supported on the levers 17 and normally spread apart under a yielding tension; for this purpose the illustrated example shows a spring 25 having its ends 26 fixed to the carriers 23 preferably by being inserted into sockets provided '15 in said carriers so as to' permit disconnection of thespring to be easily effected at will." To

arrest the spreading movements of the gripping members or jaws 21 at predetermined points adjustable stop screws 27 are mounted in lugs 28 0 located atthe outer ends of the levers 1'7 and adapted to engage portions of the carriers 23, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3.

The means whereby the operation of the gripping members or jaws 21 is controlled comprises 5 a nut 29 internally screwthreaded at 30 and slidably mounted in the recess 14 of the head 10. The internally 'screwthreaded nut 29 terminates in an outwardly extending forked end 31 which extends over the projections or legs 19 of the levers 17 and is connected therewith by means of a pin 32 or the like, which extends through the slots 20 of said levers, as illustrated in Fig. 3. An operating'rod 33 ..'is rotatably mounted in thetubular handle 12,,for instance by being journalled in a collar 34, removably fixed in said tubular handle 12 at one end thereof, as shown'in Fig. 2; theoperating rod 33 extends lengthwise of the tubular handle 12 into bearing engagement with the internal shoulder 11; of the head 10 and is of suiiicient length to project exteriorly of said tubular jects from the inner end of the operating rod 33 through the bore 13 of the head 10 into screwthreaded engagement with the internally threaded portion 30 of the nut 29.

In utilizing the tool for the purpose for which it is primarily designed, that is the removal of broken axles from the axle housings or casings 37 of an automobile, the tool is inserted into such housing or casing as diagrammatically -illustrated in Fig. 1, with the gripping members or jaws 21 sufllciently spread apart to enable said gripping members or jaws to be slipped over the free end of the section 38 of the broken axle; the operating rod 33 is ,then'frotated in a direction to cause the threaded stud 36, in co-operation with the threaded portion 30, to draw or pull the nut 29 lengthwise of the recess 14 toward the right in Fig. 3. This sliding movement of the nut 29 will be transmitted by the pin 32 to the projections or legs 19 of the levers 1'7 and accordingly will, swing the latter on the pivots 18 toward each other in Figs. 2 and 3 so as to cause the gripping members vor jaws 21 to correspondingly approach each other and engage the section 38 of the broken axle; this manipulation of the tool is continued -.until the gripping members or jaws 21 are caused tolfirmly and securely grip said axle section 38 to a degree suiiicient to enable said section .to be withdrawn from the casing or housing 37. To increase the gripping action of the members. or jaws 21, the interior surface thereof ,may be ro'ughenedas indicated at 21 in Fig. 3. It will be apparent that the slots 20 of the levers 17.,permit the above mentioned pivotal movements of the latter and it will further be obvious that the resilient action of the spring 25 will permit the gripping members or jaws 21 to adjustthemselves automatically into proper surface .engagement with the axle sec- .tion 38 to effect the most eflicient gripping contact therewith. After the axle section 38. has been fully withdrawn .from'the casing or housing 37, the tool .may be released by rotating the I operating "rod 33 in a reversedirection to cause the screwthreaded stud 36, in .co-operation with.

the threaded portion..30,.to slidably move the ,nut 29 in the recess 14 of the head 10 toward the left in Fig. 3. A pushing .force will thereby be exerted by the pin 32 upon the projections or legs 19 whereby the levers 1'7 will -be pivotally moved in directions away from each other to causethe gripping members or jaws 21 to. be spread apart; during this operation the spring '25 exerts its tension in a direction to spreadthe members or jaws 21 away. fromeach other and .to maintain the. end of the operating ,rod 33 in bearing engagement with the'internal shoulder 11 of the head .10. The elasticity which preferably is an inherent characteristic .of the members ,or jaws 21, enables the latter ,to automatically accommodate themselves to axles ofv different diameters and to thereby bringabout a most. efficient surface contactbetween said members or jaws 21 and the axle .toibe. removed. By properly setting the adjust- .able stop screws 27,.the spreading movements of the members or jaws'2l may belregulated to permit the tool .to be easily inserted into the 'housingor casing 37.

The tool is extremely simple in construction and accordingly is capable of being produced the claimswithout departing from the spirit of an automobile or other automotive vehicle, although in some instances said tool may be of such size as to adapt it primarily for use in a garage or machine shop. In any case the operation of the tool requires no particular skill and enables sections of broken axles to be easily removed from the housing or casing with a minimum of effort, or in other words, reduces such removal .to the utmost simplicity. When it is kept in mind that breaks in axles, as exemplified by encased automobile axles, may take place in close proximity to the inner ends of such axles, the utility of the novel tool will be easily recognized; in such cases the tool obviates the necessity for dismantling the casing or housing to enable the section of the broken axle to be removed as is now very often required. While the tool has been primarily designed for the purpose illustrated and set forth herein, it will be apparent that it may be used for other purposes with equal efficiency.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described may be made within the scope of the invention.

I claim: v I

1. A gripping tool comprising a tubular handle, a head 'permanentlyfixed on one end of said handle and having an internal shoulder, said head being provided with a bore terminating at one end at said shoulderin axial registry with the axis of said-handle and with an axial recess extending'from the other end'of said bore to the outer end face of said head in axial registry with said handle, ears projecting outwardly 1-10 its from the outer face of said head, levers pivotally mounted. on said .ears and extending outwardly therefrom, projections on said levers located in overlapping relation and provided with slots, lugs at the outer ends of said levers, gripping members pivotally connected with said levers and projecting from the outer ends thereof, aspring connected withsaid gripping members and exerting a tension tending to spread said gripping members, adjustable stop screws carried by said lugs for arresting the spreading .movements of saidgripping members, an internally threaded nut sildably-mounted in the recess of said head and having a forked end ex- I tending overthe projections of said levers, a pin carried by said forked end and extending through the slots of said projections whereby the latter are :movably connected with-said forked end, an operating'rod extending lengthwise of said tubular handle into bearing -en-' gagement with the internal shoulder of said head and projecting exteriorly beyond the-free .end of said handle, a reduced externally-threaded stud projecting from the inner end of said operating rod through said'bore into threaded engagement with said nut, and means on the free exposed end of said rod for rotating the same about its axis to operate said gripping members.

2. A gripping'tool comprising a tubular hamdle, a head permanently fixed on one end of said handle and having an internal shoulder, said head being provided with a bore terminating at one end at said shoulder in axial registry with the axis of said handle and with an axial recess extending from the other end of said bore to the outer end face of said headin axialregistry with said handle, levers pivotally mounted on said head, projections on said levers located in overlapping-relation and provided with slots gripping members pivotally mounted on said 1evers, a spring tending to spread said gripping members, adjustable stop screws on said levers for arresting the spreading movements ofsaid gripping members, an internally threaded nut slidably mounted in the recess of said head and having a forked end projecting over said projections, a pin projecting through said slots whereby said lever projections are movably connected with said nut, an operating rod extending lengthwise of said handle into bearing engagement with said internal shoulder, a threaded stud at the inner end of said rod extending through said bore into threaded engagement with said nut, said operating rod projecting exteriorly beyond the free end of said handle, and means on the exposed end of said rod forrotating the same about its axis 1 to operate said gripping members. I s

3. A gripping tool comprising a tubular handle, a head permanently fixed on one end of said handle and having an internal shoulder, said head being provided with a bore terminating at one end at said shoulder in axial registry with the axis of said handle and with an axial recess extending from the other end of said bore to the outer end face of said headin axial registry with said handle, bell-crank levers pivotally mounted on said head and having overlapping legs provided with slots, gripping members yieldingly mounted on said levers, an internally threaded nut slidably mounted in said recess and connected with said slotted legs, an operating rod rotatably mounted in said handle in bearing engagement with said internal shoulder, and a threaded stud projecting from said rod through said bore into threaded engagement with said nut, said rod extending exteriorly beyond said handle for operating said gripping members.

gagement with said internal'shoulder and pro-- jecting exteriorly beyond said handle, said rod being in threaded engagement with said nut for operating said gripping members.

5. A gripping tool comprising a tubular handle, a recessed head fixed'on one end of said handle and provided with an internal shoulder, gripping means movably mounted on said head, an internally threaded nut slidably mounted in said recessed head and connected with said gripping means, and an operating rod rotatably mounted .in said handle in bearing engagement with said shoulder and projecting exteriorly beyond said handle, said rod being in threaded engagement with said nut for operating said gripping means. I 6. A gripping tool comprising a tubular handie, a recessed head fixed on one end of said handle and provided with an internal shoulder, gripping means movably mounted on said head, and including independently movable jaws, means for normally spreading said jaws apart, adjustable means for arresting the spreading movements of said jaws, an internally threaded nut slidably mounted in said recessed head and connected with said gripping means, and operating means accessible exteriorly of said handle in threaded engagement with said nut for operating said gripping means.

ALVA G. FREIDLEIN. 

